1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a sectional gate valve for use on a pumper fire truck, and in particular to a swiveling intake elbow of the sectional gate valve for easily connecting the swiveling intake elbow to a water source at various angles.
2. Description of Related Art
It is well known to attach a gated relief valve to a pumper fire truck in order to quickly attach a water supply hose to the valve. However, when the water supply hose is disconnected from the valve, water remains in the valve chamber resulting in corrosion of the valve parts over a period of time. However, U.S. Pat. No. 6,382,247, issued May 7, 2002 to David K. Gundry and assigned to Task Force Tips, Inc. of Valparaiso, Ind. describes a sectional gate valve comprising a bronze sectional gate positioned within the valve chamber adjacent to an outlet section of the valve having an outlet quick attachment coupler for connecting to a pumper fire truck and having an intake valve which connects to a hose. When the hose is disconnected from the valve and the valve is closed, there is no water remaining in the valve chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,382,247 further describes attaching an elbow of the intake valve to the main housing of the valve with screws, which prevents the elbow from pointing in a desired direction which would minimize the possibility of kinks occurring in the hose line.
When a water supply for a pumper truck is located in front of or behind the truck, it is often not easy to connect the hose from the water supply to the intake valve on the pumper truck without kinks occurring in the hose. The intake valve typically has an inlet section comprising a straight section for connection to the hose or an elbow section which is fixed at a specific angle relative to the side of the pumper truck. A way to eliminate or minimize the formation of hose kinks and to make it easy and quick to connect the hose to the pumper truck is needed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,007, issued Oct. 26, 1999, to Robert Harcourt et al., a piston intake valve is described which is mounted on a fire truck and used to connect a fire plug via a hose to fill the storage chamber on the fire truck. The intake port of the valve connects to the hose and does not move to accommodate the angle that the hose arrives at the valve from the fire plug. Therefore, kinks in the hose line often occur.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,398, issued Jul. 18, 1989 to Allen A. Leach and assigned to Jaffrey Fire Protection Company, Inc. A ball gate pressure relief valve is described having a gate in the form of a ball cock which rotates in horizontal plane on a vertical axis by means of a worm gear and wheel. If a hose is connected to the valve it may kink if not aligned directly with the valve. This is because bolts hold an inlet section to a main housing of the valve.
Valves such as piston valves, gate valves, dry sectional gate valves and other valves with an angle between inlet and outlet connections are referred to as angle valves. Both the valves of Harcourt and Leach have an angle between inlet and outlet connections. Their outlet coupling is connected to a fire pumper using fire hose threads. The outlet coupling rotates on the angle valve with bearing balls and tightens on the hose threads of the fire pumper to compress a rubber hose gasket which fixes the valve in a set position. The fixed position is desirable so that the hand wheel can be operated to control the flow of fluid without having the valve also rotate. Tightening the coupling is usually done with a large wrench, mallet, or other tool because of the large force required to compress the hose gasket in sealing relationship to the fire pumper and to insure the valve remains in its set position. Thus a tool is also required to loosen and then retighten the outlet connection in order to adjust the set position of the angle valve. It is undesirable to adjust the set position of these prior art angle valves at a fire to optimize the angle of the incoming fire hose given the urgency of rapidly bringing water to bear on a fire in an emergency. Consequently kinks are common which thereby reduce the maximum available flow of water to the fire. Some piston valves such as the Black Max(copyright) by Akron Brass(copyright) of Wooster, Ohio have down angles as great as 53 degrees increasing the undesired potential for hose kinks.
Accordingly, it is therefore an object of this invention to provide a swiveling intake elbow on a sectional gate intake valve for making easier connections to a hose at various angles.
It is another object of this invention to provide a connection of a hose to a pumper truck at various angles and minimize the formation of kinks in the hose line.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a plurality of spaced-apart holes around the perimeter of the intake elbow side of a dry sectional gate valve and to provide a shot pin assembly on a flange of a swiveling intake elbow whereby a shot pin of the shot pin assembly is inserted into one of the spaced-apart holes to lock the swiveling intake elbow in a fixed position.
These and other objects are further accomplished by a valve for conducting fluid between a fluid source and a fluid destination comprising a main housing, means, attached to an outlet section of the main housing, for connecting to the suction source, means, attached to an inlet section of the main housing, for connecting to the fluid source, the fluid source connecting means including a swiveling intake elbow, and means attached to the valve for securing the swiveling intake elbow in a fixed position. The means for securing the swiveling intake elbow in a fixed position comprises a shot pin engagable in at least one detent hole. The valve comprises means for urging the shot pin into engagement with at least one detent hole. The shot pin includes means for maintaining the shot pin out of engagement with the detent hole against the urgings of the urging means. The valve comprises means for controlling the flow of the fluid through the valve. The controlling means moves in response to a rotation of a handwheel. The controlling means comprises a sectional gate positioned adjacent to the outlet section of the main housing. The securing means further comprises a pin recess having a first larger cylindrical recess and a second cylindrical recess, a shot pin having a first cylindrical portion with a larger diameter than a second cylindrical portion, a coiled spring positioned on the second cylindrical portion of the shot pin, the shot pin and the coiled spring being inserted within the pin recess, a pull knob having a second step on an end for mating with a first step of the pin recess, and the second cylindrical portion of the shot pin extends within the pull knob, and means for securing the shot pin to the pull knob. The valve comprises means for relieving pressure within the valve.
The objects are further accomplished by a sectional gate valve comprising means, located on an outlet section of the valve, for attaching the valve to a suction source, means, located on an inlet section of the valve, for connecting the valve to a fluid source, the connecting means comprises a swiveling intake elbow, and a sectional gate, mounted inside the valve adjacent to the fluid destination connecting means, for controlling the flow of the fluid through the valve, the valve being dry when the valve is closed, connected to the fluid destination and not connected to the fluid source. The valve comprises means for securing the rotating connecting means in a fixed position. The means for securing the rotating connecting means comprises a shot pin for insertion into one of a plurality of spaced-apart holes around the inlet section of the valve.
The objects are further accomplished by a sectional gate valve comprising a main housing for providing a flow path for a fluid, an inlet section of the main housing comprises a swiveling intake elbow for attaching to a hose, an outlet section of the main housing comprises a coupling for attaching the sectional gate valve to a pumping source, a sectional gate mounted in the main housing adjacent to the outlet section for opening and closing the flow path, the main housing being dry when the sectional gate is closed, the outlet section is connected to the pumping source, and the inlet section is not connected to the hose, and means, coupled to the sectional gate and mounted on the main housing, for moving the sectional gate in response to a handwheel. The main housing comprises spaced-apart holes around the perimeter of the housing adjacent to the inlet section for receiving a shot pin from the swiveling intake elbow to secure the elbow into a fixed position. The swiveling intake valve comprises a pin recess having a first larger cylindrical recess and a second cylindrical recess, a shot pin having a first cylindrical portion with a larger diameter than a second cylindrical portion, a coiled spring positioned on the second cylindrical portion of the shot pin, the shot pin and the coiled spring being inserted within the pin housing, a pull knob having a second step on an end for mating with the first step of the pin housing, and the second cylindrical portion of the shot pin extends within the pull knob, and means for securing the shot pin to the pull knob.
The objects are further accomplished by an angle valve for conducting fluid between a fluid source and a fluid destination comprising a main housing, means, attached to an inlet section of the main housing, for connecting to the fluid source, means, attached to an outlet section of the main housing, for connecting to the fluid destination, means for swiveling the angle valve about the outlet section, and means for securing the swiveling angle valve in a fixed position without the use of a tool. The securing means comprises a shot pin engagable in at least one detent hole. The securing means comprises a friction locking means. The securing means is attached to the angle valve adjacent to the outlet section. The angle valve further comprises means for controlling the flow of the fluid through the valve, and the controlling means moves in response to a rotation of a hand wheel. The controlling means may also comprise a piston movable between an open and a closed position. The controlling means further comprises a gate slidable between an open and a closed position.
The objects are further accomplished by a method of providing a valve to enable attachment to a hose at various angles comprising the steps of providing an outlet section on the valve for connecting the valve to a suction source, controlling the flow of fluid through the valve with a movable element mounted inside the valve, and connecting a swiveling intake elbow to an inlet side of the valve, the swiveling intake elbow rotates 360 degrees for ease of attaching or disconnecting the hose, and securing the swiveling intake elbow to a fixed position when desired. The method comprises the step of providing at least one securing means around a perimeter of the inlet side of the valve adjacent to the swiveling intake elbow. The method comprises the step of providing a shot pin assembly on the swiveling intake elbow for securing the swiveling intake elbow into the fixed position when a shot pin of the shot pin assembly is inserted into one of the securing means. The method comprises the step of providing at least one securing means around a perimeter of the swiveling intake elbow adjacent to the inlet side of the valve.
The objects are further accomplished by a method of providing an angle valve to enable attachment to a hose at various angles comprising the steps of providing an angled inlet on the angle valve for connecting the valve to a fluid source, controlling a flow of fluid through the angle valve with a movable element mounted inside the angle valve, connecting an outlet section to an outlet side of the angle valve, the angle valve swiveling about the outlet section by at least 45 degrees rotation permitting positioning of the hose to a desired angle, and securing the angle valve to a fixed position when desired without the use of a tool. The method comprises the step of providing at least one securing means around a perimeter of the outlet section of the angle valve adjacent to the outlet side. The method comprises the step of providing a shot pin assembly on the swiveling angle valve for securing the swiveling angle valve into the fixed position when a shot pin of the shot pin assembly is inserted into one of the securing means. The method comprises the step of providing at least one securing means around a perimeter of the outlet side adjacent to the outlet section of the angle valve.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.